Cameron's 8th Birthday

I am way behind on this post as Cameron is now almost 8.5, but oh well then I get to capture more of what he's like right now and what we don't want to forget. Back in September we hosted a really fun birthday party for Cameron and actually it was the first birthday party we've ever hosted at our house! It was ok though because we didn't have to try and manage 12 kids in our house. The party came to us in the form of a Video Game Truck! A couple friends have hosted parties with this and we thought "genius!" We didn't really have to do anything to entertain the kids--the truck did all that for us! 

Basically a huge truck parked outside our house for 2 hours. Inside were tons of screens and any video game console a kid could want. Plus lots of comfy seating. The kids had tons of fun playing videos games and running around outside. They love the game truck because there are no limits--they basically can play all the games even the ones parents don't love like Fortnite. :) After the game truck left we had pizza and doughnuts in our garage and the kids ran around and played basketball until their parents came to pick them up. It was a really fun party and Cam had all his closest friends there which made it so special for him. 

Here are the aspects about Cameron at 8 years old that we don't want to forget:

• Cameron is still our snuggler and deep feeler. He connects through touch and is very affectionate. He also has really big emotions and feelings which are sometimes hard for him to manage. But he is getting better at managing his emotions and using coping mechanisms to help calm himself down or just remove himself from the situation so he can take a breath. We're constantly working with him on that and he's getting much better at it with age. We hope he never stops being cuddly and affectionate!
• He has found more of his voice this year. We've had some good conversations and discussions with both boys over the last couple of months about social dynamics and relationships with friends or people at school. And Cameron has opened up a lot about things he's experiencing. He feels supported and validated by his family which has helped him to vocalize and ask for help with situations he's not sure how to navigate. He has a person in his class this year who is very challenging for everyone and is a bully. He and I had a joint conference with Ms. Barry his teacher back in December and he was able to communicate with her more openly about how that's impacted him and what his needs are. He was kind of afraid to communicate with her before that so that was an important milestone. And he comes to us often with updates on how the bully situation is going and asks for our help when needed. He and I have great connection talks at night before bed which is my favorite. He said to me the other day that he notices he's more talkative. I asked him why he thinks that is and he said it's because of Nathan--that he feels validation and confidence from his brother.
• Cameron and Nathan still definitely have their fights and disagreements, but they are such good buddies and really have such a special connection and bond with each other. They can just get on this unique wavelength with each other when they play and it's really fun to watch
• Both Cameron and Nathan are into making up fun games in the living room usually involving some kind of ball whether it's dodge ball, wall ball, throwing the football around, or some kind of imagination game. They can entertain themselves for hours (thank goodness!) and it's cool to see what they come up with. I have to exercise a lot of patience though because it often messes with the house decor! ;)
• Cameron got a hoverboard for Christmas 2022. He took to it very quickly and he is often riding it around the house as he and Nate are playing or even while he's doing his chores!
• Cameron's go to hobbie is still art. He uses drawing as a coping mechanism when he's upset. He loves to do Art for Kids Hub on YouTube in his free time. And many mornings I'll come in to wake him up and he's sitting up in his bed drawing something. 
• His favorite sports right now are football, soccer, baseball, and basketball. This year he played soccer in the fall, he's skiing right now this winter and he'll be playing Little League this spring. He's still so naturally coordinated and good at sports it's really fun to watch him play all of them.
• Toys and activities Cameron is into right now: Legos, drawing, Nintendo Switch (Mario, Pokemon, Minecraft), Xbox (Fortnite, Rocket League, Madden football, Fifa soccer), puzzles, card games, playing catch with the football every second of the day, and occasionally he'll still pull out his action figures of dragons or super heroes.
• Cam still continues to impress us with his great fashion sense. For his birthday he got his first suit. He actually wore it to school the first or second week...with his Nike high tops! He loves to dress up and look nice and loves putting creative outfits together. He's a boy after my own heart!
• Because Cameron is so little, he often struggles with being cold. So one of his favorite things in the whole world is a hot tub! Too bad we don't have one at the house. But every trip we go on he requests a hotel with a hot tub. It is his happy place. :)
• Cameron's good friends right now are Devin, Keegan, Willa, Bella, Leiff, Alberto, Jackson, and Vander.
• Cameron has really improved in his reading the past year particularly in fluency and expanding his vocabulary. He likes to read graphic novels and picture books.
• Similar to Nate, Cameron loves making playlists of recent popular songs on his Spotify account. He blasts his music in the morning as he's getting ready or he belts it out when wearing his headphones. 

What a joy it is to be parents to this sweet boy and to watch him grow up and discover more of who he is. Happy 8th Birthday Cameron! We are so grateful to be your parents and hope this continues to be a memorable and fun year for you!

Disneyland and California!!

After many years of waiting and anticipation, the magical day finally came when we took the boys to Disneyland for the first time!!  I don't know how many years we discussed and debated about when would be the best ages to go to Disneyland. We wanted to go a few years ago, but now knowing what we know we think we waited for the perfect time (ages 10 and 7) because we had an absolute blast and the boys got to fully experience all that Disneyland has to offer.  

The day after school ended we were up and on an airplane to California to kick off our summer in style.  Even the airplane ride was magical!  We had an incredible flight attendant who made the boys feel very special by giving them wing pins and inviting them up to the cockpit when we landed to meet the pilots and see all the airplane instruments. 

When planning our trip, we decided that if this was going to be the boys' first trip to Disneyland after patiently waiting for so long, we wanted to do it up right.  So we decided to stay at the Disneyland Resort.  And now we are sooo glad that we did.  I'm not sure we would go anywhere else now that we've experienced it.  The convenience is so awesome, but also staying there adds to the magic of the whole trip.  Such good customer service and the rooms are filled with hidden mickey's, fun photos, and even a special headboard!  

The other reason we chose the resort was because it had an awesome pool complete with 2 monorail water slides!  We thought maybe we would have 1 day where we'd take a break from the parks and have a pool day, but we actually ended up going to the pool every day!  The boys would get hot and tired around 2pm so we'd leave the parks to go back to the hotel and refresh and rejuvenate with a swim and then go back to the parks at night.  Another reason why the resort was so helpful for us.  So the boys were in the pool every day!

The first night we had a special dinner at Goofy's Kitchen so the boys could get a fun character experience.  The restaurant was at the resort.  It was buffet style and every 20 minutes characters like Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale, and Goofy would go around the kitchen to say hi to all the kids.  Plus we also got a little photo shoot with Goofy.  It was fun!

Day 1 in the parks was classic Disneyland.  Nate wanted to do the Disneyland Railroad train first so we could get a lay of the land plus he still just loves trains.  We walked down Main Street and of course had to get our Mickey Ears.  Then our very first ride was the Haunted Mansion.  We also did Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Snow White, Small World, Pinocchio, etc.  A lot of the classic rides (but sadly Pirates of the Caribbean was closed for renovations). We spent most of the first day in Adventureland, New Orleans Square, and Fantasyland.  At night we went back to ride Dumbo, the Carousel, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, and watched the Main Street Electrical Parade. 

Day 2 was really special because Aunt Carol and Uncle Dean drove up to join us for a couple days! This was extra special for me because they came with me on my first trip to Disneyland when I was 7 and it was amazing to come full circle and have them there for my kids' first trip to Disneyland! Plus they make everything more fun so it was great to have them with us.  On this day we did the Peter Pan ride and then went over to experience the Star Wars land which was so unique and realistic!  Uncle Dean has always loved roller coasters and that love has not dissipated even with him being in his early 70's.  He rode the enhanced Space Mountain with James and I and it was like he was a 12 year old kid again!  So fun!  Then after our swim refresh we went back in the evening to do the Matterhorn (both boys were brave and got on it) and more Tomorrowland with Autopia, the Buzz Lightyear ride and the rocket ships.  

Day 3 was with Aunt Carol and Uncle Dean again and we finally got to enjoy Disney's California Adventure.  I never went there in the past because in college and when James and I went, we only had 1 day to be there so we packed all our time with classic Disneyland.  It was soo nice on this trip to have multiple days as it took the pressure off and you could really enjoy all aspects of both parks.  We absolutely loved California Land.  We could have easily done another day there.  It's so creative and you really feel immersed into the spaces.  Plus it's a little more low key compared to Disneyland.  All of us loved the Radiator Springs ride in Cars Land.  I also loved Pixar Pier.  James and Dean were very brave and rode the Guardians of the Galaxy crazy drop ride.  Nathan was brave and actually rode the intense Incredicoaster!  After another afternoon swim break we went back in the evening to eat at the Lamplight Lounge and enjoy more of Cars Land and the Avengers area.  Of course the boys wore the appropriate attire.  For the finale we watched the most incredible water show!

Sadly we said goodbye to Dean and Carol after Day 3.  Day 4 was spent doing the things in Disneyland we hadn't done yet and doing our favorite things one more time.  We also did things I haven't done in a long time or have never done like the Mark Twain Riverboat, and the Tiki Room.  We finally got to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and the Star Wars Rise of the Resistance after those rides had been down a lot on other days.  We enjoyed more of Star Wars land including getting lunch at Oga's Cantina and the boys got to build their very own droids!  We did 1:1 dates (Megs and Cam on the Winne the Pooh Ride, and James and Nate on the Casey Jr. Train ride). The big finale at the end was Splash Mountain (which the boys did not love) and on our way out of the park we watched the Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln which James had really wanted to do.  There were a few things we didn't get to, but all in all we really soaked up most of both parks!

All in all we couldn't have asked for a better first time in Disneyland. All of us absolutely loved it and had such a great time.  I even could have gone a 5th day--felt like I just couldn't get enough.  We're already ready to go back!  So grateful for such special memories and unforgettable family experiences. Plus we were so proud of the boys for being brave and trying pretty intense rides (another reason we're glad we waited).

We extended our trip a bit so we could also enjoy California. We transferred up to stay in Santa Monica near the pier so we could enjoy the beach and the ocean. 

And because we apparently didn't have enough theme park time, we decided to add on a day at Universal Studios as well!  Are we crazy?  It was a really fun day, but we missed our routine of being able to go back to the pool in the afternoon (it was a hot day!) and almost all the rides were 3D simulation which was really cool, but got a little tiring and James got pretty nauseous after awhile.  Harry Potter land was probably our favorite though and made the visit worthwhile.

Our final day in California was a fun trip down memory lane for me.  We got to visit the Pepperdine campus so I could show the boys where I went to college.  We walked and drove around campus and then also went down into the town of Malibu to get "Malibu Yo" which was one of my favorite snacks when I lived there.  I also took everyone to the little secret beach I used to go to on a back road in Malibu. And our finale dinner for the trip was at Dukes on PCH.  

Such an epic family vacation that we're still talking and reminiscing about!  Thanks to Dean and Carol for helping to make it so fun.  Can't believe it's already over as we talked about it so much over the past year and were counting the days.  But we're so glad it exceeded our expectations. And I have a feeling it won't be too long until we're back in Magic Kingdom again. Maybe wishing upon a star will get us there sooner than later?  We'll see!